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It's sometimes hard to believe the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ twins have made it this long. That this pair of cars, introduced into a market with almost nothing that resembled them, has soldiered on for over a decade is proof that there are still true enthusiasts among us. What's more, the cars continue to evolve mechanically while sprouting special editions along the way. Toyota's latest is the GR86 Yuzu Edition, which puts its best hardware in a very yellow package.
For those who don't watch Top Chef or weren't paying attention to trendy restaurant menus over the past few years, yuzu is a tart Asian citrus that's often substituted for lemon. As you might have guessed, the fruit's skin is yellow.
This year's GR86 special edition harks back to the 2015 Scion FR-S Release Series 1.0. The youth-oriented brand painted 1500 FR-S coupes in this hue and added a handful of TRD accessories, including lowering springs. Since then, Scion went away, and the model was renamed 86 upon joining Toyota's North American lineup. For its second generation, the car's badge was updated with a GR prefix, signifying its membership in an exclusive club of fun-to-drive Toyotas.
The 2026 Yuzu Edition is based on the Premium trim with the available Performance pack, which includes Sachs dampers plus larger brake rotors clamped by Brembo four-piston front and two-piston rear calipers. It wears 18-inch matte black wheels and a body-color ducktail rear spoiler. Yellow seat perforations and stitching spruce up the interior, and there's a commemorative plaque to show your friends, but doing so requires opening the driver's door, as it's located on the blunt end of the dashboard. Like the base and Premium trims below it, the Yuzu is available with either a six-speed manual or an optional six-speed automatic transmission for $1100.
It's probably not a coincidence that Subaru is offering its own yellow BRZ for 2026 (the paint codes are the same!). Perhaps yellow is the new matte black.
While our Lightning Lap results show the progression of this chassis over the years, one thing we don't get at that annual Virginia International Raceway shootout is an opportunity to drive the cars back to back with their predecessors. So it was somewhat of a rare opportunity recently that Toyota let us loose at Sonoma Raceway first in a 2024 GR86 with the Performance pack and then in the 2026 Yuzu Edition.
The handful of laps emphasized changes made between the model years that focused on the power steering and damper tuning. We felt more feedback through the helm in the 2026 version, an improvement on already communicative steering, and the car's reactions were more direct. The dampers also seemed a little less busy through Sonoma's many elevation changes, resulting in a smoother, easier-to-control track companion. We were reminded how well the 86 rotates, a special thing for a car with its engine up front.
The car we drove was equipped with an optional GR body kit and quad-outlet exhaust. The add-on skirts, splitter, and diffuser look cool, but the effect is slightly undone by the black material at the interfaces between the body and the accessory parts. That four-cannon exhaust, however, made the flat-four engine sound deliciously meaty; we enjoyed it most when following the Yuzu Edition around the track, so adding the cat-back system can be considered a public service.
A special edition by any other name would drive as sweet. Whether you opt for the new yellow hotness or pick up last year's handsome Hakone Edition (or choose a standard trim and color paired with the Performance pack), the result is one of the most focused sports cars on the market today. These cars require some finesse to hustle, yet they reward their drivers in the process.
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The GR86 is the least expensive option in these dueling lineups for 2026, bright paint or no. This Yuzu Edition comes in at $37,560, while the Series.Yellow BRZ asks $2995 more. In terms of the minimum buy-in, the Toyota is cheaper by over $5000, as Subaru dropped its previous base trim.
So not only have these cars stuck around, they remain attainable and interesting. In an age of crossovers and heavy EVs, we don't dare ask for more than that.
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